Growing your own is not just about providing food for yourself and your family. It can also allow you to grow in a range of ways – some of them rather interesting and perhaps even surprising. Caring for plants and forging a closer connection with the natural world can make you grow as a person – honing a range of positive character traits and perhaps even teaching you more about yourself too.
Personal growth should be a goal for all those who are trying to live more sustainable lives. Because it is only when we have a solid emotional and intellectual base to work from that we can really make change happen and put in sustained effort long term.
Growing your own can help you grow because it can:
- Make you slow down and literally smell the flowers, which can give time for reflection.
- Bring patience, as you wait for seeds to germinate and grow.
- Make you more considerate of others – yes, you are caring for plants, but that can spill over into adopting a more caring attitude to other people too.
- Bring a greater appreciation for plant life and its complexities, which can help in avoiding an anthropocentric view that blinds us to the different forms of life around us.
- Make you more able to cope when things go wrong. Of course, not everything goes according to plan in a garden, so growing your own helps you learn how to take the downs along with the ups.
- Bring more confidence. When things go right, growing your own can give you more confidence in yourself and your own abilities, which can help you in going our there, making things happen, and making your voice heard.
If you are interested in growing your own but have not started yet, consider enrolling on my email ‘Start Your Own Organic Garden‘ course. There are still just a few places left so be sure to contact me soon if you are interested.
EWSP Consultancy 